September 26, 2008

I'm pleased to announce this new exclusive at the Cielo, which is an outstanding value in a recently developed (delivered in 2006), full-service, Upper East Side, condo building. This apartment is the best two bedroom layout in the building, with open views to the south and east. Its a amply sized two bedroom apartment, with floor to ceiling glass walls that make it feel even larger. We are having an open house on Sunday from 12:30 until 2:00 PM; 450 East 83rd Street, #17C. Feel free to drop-in and see why this has everything you could ask for in a top of the line apartment at $2,000,000.

September 25, 2008

Here's an unscientific poll about how people might feel about the short term prospects of Manhattan real estate. We have had an exceptionally strong real estate market here for the several years, but we are not immune to market forces. I'm basically an optimist about our city. The crisis is one of momentary confidence, not of fundamentals. What do you think?

September 24, 2008

The Manhattan real estate market has forms of property ownership which includes fee simple, traditional townhouses; but the vast majority of housing stock are apartments with forms of ownership which include 'co-ops', 'condos' and 'cond-ops' which are sometimes misunderstood. For example, it is possible to have a coop or condo unit within a townhouse style property. Each form of ownership has different opportunities, rewards and risks, so discuss them with your broker at the beginning of your search. Real Estate Attorney Keith Schuman takes us back to the basics here, by defining the major types of residential property, as part of his series about purchasing a home in New York City.

September 22, 2008

Six current and former Wharton faculty members are nearly unanimous on one point: The government had no option but to keep Fannie and Freddie afloat. Mortgage-backed securities sold by the two firms are so widely held that to allow their prices to collapse would have caused a worldwide financial disaster.

September 21, 2008

ABC's 20/20 was quick to run with a story last week, "The Fall of the Gilded Age". No doubt that Manhattan real estate, which has been largely spared from the real estate downturn, and fueled by Wall Street salaries, would be looked at in this segment. A well known NYC agent was on camera saying, "Because a month from now, that same $5 million apartment may be lucky to achieve $3.5 million" and that the average $5 million apartment has already lost 20 percent of its value. But no matter where you stand, buyer, seller, broker, or even bubble blogger, the claim simply doesn't hold up.

September 19, 2008

This has been just a flabbergasting week of news, with the global financial markets showing unprecedented volatility and fragility. Clearly the current administration's narrowly focused dogma of deregulation and tax cuts as the answer to wealth creation, has lead us to a cataclysmic failure; and a government intervention which so far benefits those most responsible for the failure. The fate of the ordinary homeowner who may be facing foreclosure remains largely unresolved and has been virtually unspoken about this week.

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